BRAINCAKEMass Spectrometer in Space
Space probes such as the Mars rover curiosity have mass spectrometers to analyse rock samples and identify which elements they are composed of and analyses the gases in the atmosphere.
The mass spectrometer identifies elements with software that matches the spectrum of samples with spectra from all the elements.
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Key terms in this lesson
- Mass spectrometer
- An instrument used to measure the percentage abundances of isotopes in a sample of an element, from which relative atomic mass can be calculated.
More in Atomic Structure
- The Mass Spectrometer
- Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer
- Mass Spectra of Elements
- Low Resolution Mass Spectrometry
- Quantum Mechanics
- Energy Levels
- Atomic Orbitals
- Order of filling orbitals
All 22 lessons in Atomic Structure · All AQA AS-level Chemistry topics